Barcelona Tennis Academy

I would like to share with you a few words about one of the most unique tennis academies I have ever been to, which is Barcelona Tennis Academy. What sets it apart from other academies is its psychologically informed tennis coaching, which is huge for peak performance in tennis.

The key feature of its basic programme is that it provides a direct approach to training mental toughness and positive life skills, which is fully integrated with tennis practice and instruction. It is tied to regular on-site training and competitions, proceeds along with physical skills development and aims to complement and enhance technical and fitness instruction. Hands-on tennis instruction is consistently combined with on-court mental coaching.

That such a mix is hugely effective is a no brainer, yet how they do it on a day-to-day basis is quite remarkable. They are really into the psychology of the growth mindset, which not only perfectly complements the Spanish style of the game, but also I think is the optimal mentality to have to excel at tennis.

The coaches are amazing – total tennis aficionados, full of passion for the game and, crucially, very open to all fresh and modern, sports and psychology research ideas. They design cutting-edge, fully personalised trainings totally tailored to the player’s needs. This combo of tennis and psychology is truly powerful.